Bleach Drabbles
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: Well, I decided it was time to make the Bleach Drabbles. This will be a collection of random ideas involving Bleach which may or may not become full stories. For those of you interested in the stories, please remember I THRIVE on reviews. The more I get, the more likely I am to continue the chapter.
1. Red String of Fate Chapter One

The delicacy of beginning is as thin as a single red thread. It all began with a chance encounter during one of Ichigo's after school hours. Because there was a graveyard on the way near his house, he would always take time to pass by it and pay respects. As one who saw the dead as clear as if they were alive, he figured he owed them that much.

It was during one of his usual retribution times that he met the old man. He appeared to be the groundskeeper of the graveyard, which Ichigo saw through immediately. He had met the man who sometimes asked him for help cleaning some of the older graves.

"Who are you?" asked Ichigo. 

"The groundskeeper," said the old man. He wiped some sweat off his brow.

"No, you're not. And I know the man who takes care of the grounds, and you are most definitely not him. He was in perfect health last time I saw him too," said Ichigo.

"You're a sharp one, aren't you?" said the old man.

"What's a burning wheel spirit doing tending human graves?" asked Ichigo.

"And you can see my true form. Fascinating. You needn't worry yourself child, I won't be here long. My Mistress is simply doing a job in this area, and I'm scouting for her," said the old man.

"Who could bind a spirit like yourself?" asked Ichigo.

"I can," said a female voice.

Ichigo turned to find...a beautiful girl with the face and figure of a well made doll. Her black hair was straight and very long. She had blood red eyes that seemed to look right into your soul, judging you. She wore a school uniform he wasn't familiar with, as it was completely black save for the collar and tie.

"Who are you?"

"My name...is Enma Ai."

"You're... You're the Hell Girl aren't you? Why are you in my neighborhood?"

"Someone has put in a request. Whether or not they untie the string is up to them," said Ai.

Ichigo looked at her and decided it wasn't his problem.

"It's not my problem unless you come after my family. I just wanted to know who was pretending to be the groundskeeper," said Ichigo, rubbing the back of his head.

"What is the name of your family?"

"Kurosaki."

"They are not the ones targets, or the one who put in the request," said Ai.

"That's good to hear."

Ichigo left after that, heading home for a nice dinner. However his mind would always go back to his meeting with the infamous Hell Girl, and how alone she looked.

She was about his age, yet she looked much older if you looked in her eyes. But that was nothing to how sad those same eyes looked.

He felt sorry for her.

Which was why he kept half an ear on her whereabouts. At least until he met Rukia Kuchiki and became a soul reaper. After that he had no time to look for her.

Ichigo listened to the reports about Lovely Hills. Something about it stank. And then he saw something that almost made his heart stop.

Three people in the background, all with the same tattoo on their chest. One he knew well because he had kept a little attention to Hell Girl rumors.

The bad feeling in his chest grew, as he knew something terrible was about to occur. He watched the news on the residential area with dread. How people were disappearing in mass without warning, in front of several eye witnesses. But no one was saying anything.

Then, one night after the incident with Grand Fisher, Ichigo felt his heart was about to burst. Rukia was sound asleep, and the only thing that would wake her up would be the hollow alarm.

Ichigo knew this had something to do with Ai, the girl he had run into in the graveyard.

Ichigo didn't think. Something told him he needed to go. So he grabbed his bike from the shed and started peddling. By the time Rukia caught up to him, having sensed his spiritual pressure, she knew something was up.

"Ichigo, what are you...?"

"No time to explain. Just hold onto my back until we get there!" said Ichigo, as he slowed down just enough for her to climb onto the two pieces of metal that jutted out from the wheels.

He pedaled even faster, rarely stopping except to get something to drink.

He was almost too late.

"AI!" yelled Ichigo. He jumped off the bike, barely noting Rukia had done the same once she realized he wasn't going to bother stopping.

She could see a young girl in a white kimono, who looked lost. Next to her was a boy, badly beaten.

Ichigo saw red with rage as he kicked and punched his way to them. Several people had broken bones and bruises from the assault.

As soon as he got to Ai and the boy, he beat off the mob and got them out of there, Rukia helping him where she could.

"Ichigo, what the hell is going on? Who is this girl?!" demanded Rukia once they were far enough away. Ichigo was having trouble breathing through the stitch in his side.

"Kid, where's the nearest pay phone?" asked Ichigo.

"About a mile that way. Why?"

"We are going to deal with that mob properly," said Ichigo. No way were the getting away with nearly killing two kids on his watch. He had noticed most of them had the tattoo of the Hell Girl on their chest, meaning they had condemned someone to hell.

He already knew exactly how to spin this.

"_This is the police department, what is your emergency?"_

"There's some crazy cult in Lovely Hills! I was just riding by when I saw them try to kill two kids as a sacrifice to some demon! You have to hurry, I don't know when they'll find us!" said Ichigo.

"_Hold on sir, the police are on their way,"_ said the operator with some urgency.

"Warn the cops that all the cultists have this weird tattoo on their chest and think that a young child is the devil. I don't think any of them are in their right mind anymore," said Ichigo.

About an hour later Ichigo gave his statement and kept Ai with him. For some reason she couldn't remember who she was or why she was there. Since Ichigo was the son of a doctor, he was able to spin that on some drugs that the 'cult' members had given her before the sacrifice. The boy had apparently figured out what Ichigo was doing, because he added some incriminating statements of his own, saying that everyone in Lovely Hills believed he had killed his mother, despite the fact all he had done was pick up the weapon after the fact.

It took them two hours before they were allowed to leave, and by that time Isshin had showed up in the family car, which was only used for long distance journeys.

"Ichigo, just what in god's name were you doing here at this time of night?" asked Isshin.

"Remember how I occasionally volunteer at that graveyard cleaning up the place?"

"I know about that," said Isshin.

"Well a couple of months ago I ran into this suspicious spirit pretending to be the groundskeeper. After I confronted him, I found out he was in the service of another spirit... Hell Girl. Ever since, I've kept a note of where she was. Ever since this mess with Lovely Hills started, I've been getting this really bad feeling. Then a few hours ago I knew something terrible had happened here and that I had to come right away."

"So this young girl is..."

"She was Hell Girl. I think something happened to her."

Isshin sighed. First it was the soul reaper in his son's closet, and now Hell Girl. He didn't do things by halves.

"Since she can been seen by humans, I suppose we could let her stay. But you're grounded for a month mister! And if you want new tires for your bike you'll have to pay for it out of your allowance!" said Isshin.

"Fair enough," said Ichigo.

"Everyone, I would like you to meet your new classmate. Come in please!"

Ai walked in wearing the Karakura High uniform. It looked good on her.

Ai sat next to Ichigo, since it was on Isshin's recommendations.

Because of her memory loss, it was best to keep her close to Ichigo, because he was someone she remembered.

For some reason, Ai remembered Ichigo even after her memory was deliberately erased of her companions.

Ichigo believed this was because he had not met her as Hell Girl, but as Enma Ai.

Of course Ichigo's friends were quick to note that Ichigo had little trouble remembering her name.

Ai saw the hollows gathering, though she didn't understand the significance of it until she watched Tatsuki try to defend Orihime.

"Orihime! Tatsuki!" she cried.

"Ai-chan, can you see them too?" asked Tatsuki.

"I can see some sort of seed monster on the wall," said Ai.

The Hollow sneered and shot a seed at Ai, intending to take her over. Ai flinched, holding up her arms in a cross position to block it. Before the seed could attach, a black flame like night appeared incinerating it.

"Huh?"

"_Did you feel that?"_

"_It's her...she's alive!"_

"_But where?"_

"_There's too much interference. I can't get a lock. But...I do have a direction."_

"_How far?"_

"_She's in Japan...and somewhere near Tokyo from I can tell."_

"_Let's go...she needs us."_

Ai stayed close to Orihime while Tatsuki tried and failed to stop the monster. She still had that strange black flame, but it would only show up to defend her and not Orihime.

There was a sudden blast of power and the hair pins Orihime had became fairies.

Orihime was able to take out the hollow, but they had to leave Tatsuki behind.

"Who would have expected that Ichigo-kun would befriend the infamous Hell Girl?" said Urahara.

"You...know me?" asked Ai. Even now she had trouble remembering her past.

"I know of you."

"Ai-chan is Hell Girl?" said Orihime.

"She _was_ Hell Girl. Due to a certain event a month ago, Ai-chan has been removed from duty and her memories erased. Because of that, she is little more than a spiritually aware human," said Urahara.

After this, he would try to train her and Ichigo to use their natural powers.

"Now you have a choice. Either take a step into this world...or go back to the one you once lived in," said Urahara. Ichigo went after the Menos with an oversized sword.

"I...I don't know what to choose. Ever since Ichigo saved me, I have been lost."

"Ai-chan..." said Orihime.

"I will follow his decision. If Ichigo chooses to remain a soul reaper after Kuchiki-san is gone, then I shall join this world of yours," said Ai.

"I as well," said Chad.

"Give me time to think," said Orihime.

Someone called the clinic a few hours after Rukia vanished. Ai was the one to answer it.

"Kurosaki Clinic, Ai speaking," she answered.

"_Hello Ai-chan! Could you tell Isshin that Ichigo will be home tomorrow? It seems he bit off more than he could chew earlier and it might take him a while to wake up."_

"Who is this?"

"_I believe Ichigo-kun calls me Hat-and-Clogs. Just tell him Kisuke has his son, he'll understand,"_ said the other person on the phone.

Ai hung up and told Isshin the message.

Isshin sighed.

"I better call this in," he said.

"What is going on?" asked Ai.

"It will depend on Ichigo. Whether he regains his powers or becomes human will be entirely up to him. What about you, Ai-chan? Will you learn how to use your powers or will you remain a human girl?"

"I...I don't know. I wouldn't know the first thing about how to use that black flame for myself..." said Ai. She looked so...lost.

"Don't worry! Even if you did somehow master that black flame you are still welcome here!" said Isshin.

Ai smiled at him. He was one of the few who had accepted her so openly.

"_I've found her. She's in Karakura...and she's living with a former Soul Reaper."_

"_How did she get all the way there? It's three miles from where she was last seen!"_

"_I believe I know. There was a boy in Karakura who recognized me for what I was as soon as he saw me. He might have heard about the Lovely Hills incident and realized she was in danger. This might be a good thing..."_

"_How so?"_

"_If she is with that boy, then her spiritual pressure will increase. Not to mention that with him around, her spirit might be hidden from the spider."_

"_Yeah, but what if the Soul Society picks up on her? We can't let them send her back to Hell..."_

"_Then we'll just have to come up with something. Either way she's safer in Karakura than she ever was around us without her memories."_

Ai was with Ichigo...in a manner of speaking. Her best friend was in a deep pit trying to regain his powers. Unfortunately the only one who could teach Ai anything was Tessai, and he was busy keeping Ichigo under control for the moment.

However that didn't mean Urahara couldn't help Ai in the meantime.

"So...your memories were taken because you refused to take an innocent to Hell."

Ai nodded. With every day she was around Ichigo, her memories of her past were slowly coming back. The first and foremost was the reason for her current condition.

After the incident, most of her powers as Hell Girl were sealed or stripped, leaving her little more than a spiritually aware human. Aside from the black flames, she could barely defend herself. Ichigo hid her from the Soul Society, as well as raised her powers past what they could have been,

Urahara planned to help her learn how to use soul reaper powers, since they were the closest they could get with her own sealed.

Which meant she would be learning kido from Tessai once Ichigo was back to normal. He would have put her through the same training as Ichigo, except he didn't want to be on someone's radar. Her spirit form was the Hell Girl, and without her powers she was helpless if attacked.

"Let's get started, shall we?" grinned Urahara. This was going to be fun!


	2. Soul of the Night Sky Chapter One

Isshin noted that his son was more depressed than usual. Which was why he went up into the attic to get something.

"What's this?" asked Ichigo.

"Something your mother bought years ago. She never had the chance to figure out what it was," said Isshin.

It was a book, bound in chains with a gold cross on the front. The cover was a deep mahogany brown, and it looked old. Very old. There were many pages, easily over five hundred by Ichigo's guess.

Ichigo never thought about the book again, though he did take care of it. After all, it was something his mother owned before her murder. Occasionally, when he was really bored he would try to open it.

He never believed it would change his life until April...

Ichigo was finishing his homework when he noticed a gleam from behind.

"What the..."

The book on his shelf, which he took care of in memory of his mother, rose up in the air with nothing holding it up. The chains broke like they were made of cheap metal, and the book's pages began to flip around as if in some sort of strong wind.

_**(Anfang.)**_

Ichigo stared in shock as four people appeared inside a strange circle with the same cross as the one on the book. They were different ages and sizes. And the only male of the group had wolf ears.

"The Book of Darkness has awakened," said the oldest. She had deep pink hair in a long ponytail framed by twin braids.

"We are the Knights who collect the magical power for the book," said the blond short haired woman.

"It is our duty to follow our master's orders," said the male with wolf-ears.

"We are the Wolkenritter. Please give us your orders," said the youngest, a girl with deep red hair in twin pigtails.

All four of them were wearing a form fitting black outfit, which thankfully covered them properly.

"What...WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Ichigo, dinner is..." started Yuzu.

She stopped cold when she saw the group, still kneeling.

Ichigo had a feeling this was going to be a very migraine-inducing conversation, which was why he grabbed the ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet before he went downstairs.

"So you four are 'Knights' to the book my mom had in the attic," said Ichigo.

"Yes," said Signum.

"And your main job is to collect these...linker cores...to fill up the book," said Ichigo. A vein was already throbbing on his forehead. Fortunately for the Knights, Yuzu handed him a medicinal tea which he drank while downing two ibuprofen.

"We also serve as protectors for the Master, though usually that's never been a problem," said Shamal, the blond. She didn't add that most of their previous masters had finished the book using the Knights.

"And I'm supposedly the Master of this...Book of Darkness," said Ichigo. The pills were already taking effect, as the tea sped up the relief.

Isshin watched the four talk with Ichigo like a tennis match. It was clear his son would lose his temper soon.

"Yeah, the newest in a long line of them," said Vita.

"Why me?" said Ichigo, his head thumping the table.

"So what are we going to do with you guys? We can't exactly explain four new people in the house that fast!" said Karin.

"What exactly can you guys do anyway?"

"Well, I'm a healing and support specialist," offered Shamal.

"Great! You can help in the clinic!" said Isshin cheerfully.

"What about me?" said Vita.

"Heavy combat, right?" said Ichigo. She nodded.

"You can protect Karin and Yuzu during school and on the way home," said Isshin. Vita did look about their age after all.

"I happen to know there's a spot open in for the P.E. Teacher for the next year or so since ours just went on Maternity leave," said Ichigo to Signum. The only problem would be to get her papers.

"I suppose I could guard the house," said Zafira in his wolf form. He was surprised at how quickly the family took to his usual form as a massive wolf.

"Mind becoming a little smaller outside the house? You're kinda hard to fit through doors otherwise," said Karin.

"Not a problem.

"Great! I'll get your papers tomorrow. Until then, we just need to find where you four can sleep!" said Isshin cheerfully.

He knew they wouldn't try anything...and this might protect Ichigo from the Soul Society later.

For the first month, things were great. Except for the fact Isshin noticed his son's spiritual pressure suddenly vanishing. He suspected the book was absorbing it all.

The real question was what the limit on it would be.

Ichigo was a little over fourteen years old, yet in his blood was the power of the Soul Reapers. His potential was enormous. His capacity for spirit energy was even larger than the run-of-the-mill Soul Reaper.

Then he noticed that Ichigo's spirit energy wasn't coming out of the book. Rather that it was slowly be absorbed.

When he looked at it, he noticed a good portion of the pages had already been filled. Shamal told Isshin that as a result of bonding with it's master, the Book absorbed their spells first, to give it the first boost it needed to cast.

According to her, the book ate pages to cast spells until it was full. That was the reason why the Master had the knights collect linker cores, so he could focus on other things.

When Ichigo turned fifteen, Isshin started to notice that his son limped a few times. As if his feet were bothering him...

Ichigo was cleaning his computer when he noticed something rather...odd. It almost looked like someone had hooked up a USB to his computer when he wasn't looking, except he checked and didn't see anything that wasn't there a thousand times before. Finally his eyes landed on a familiar book that he barely paid any mind to.

Because he didn't want to cause trouble by stealing 'linker cores' from other people, he hadn't ordered the knights to gather them. Even though he suspected that the book's revenge for that fact was the slow and extremely painful numbing of his feet which was working it's way up his legs.

Every day, a little bit of his legs felt the same painful feeling as the bottom of his feet. It was almost like they were perpetually asleep, only the pins and needles feeling refused to go away.

Why on earth was the book showing up on his bi-yearly maintenance of his computer?

(He only did this because the computer guy had complained he wasn't keeping his computer up-to-date and he was tired of fixing simple mistakes. So Ichigo bought a book on computers and tried to keep up the maintenance himself.)

Curious, he clicked the disk with his mouse...and was horrified when he saw the results of the analysis.

Quite a bit of the book's programs were fragmented. Looking at the files, he found that the defense program, the reincarnation and Knight program were shredded. He had a feeling that one of them was responsible for his legs hurting recently.

Since he knew the book had enough magical power to use at least five high level spells, even though he hadn't added any pages, he figured it had enough power to take him to the nearest planet to see if he could repair the programs that were wrecked.

He waited for the weekend, where he convinced Zafira and Signum to watch his sisters while he went shopping. At least, that was the excuse. He did tell his father that he was going to see if he could get the book repaired...and Isshin gave him an advance for the next three months of his allowance just in case.

"Book, where is the nearest world that is capable of repairing devices?" asked Ichigo.

_**(Nearest world is Mid-Childa, home of the Time Space Administration Bureau. I have coordinates from previous incarnation,)**_ replied the Book of Darkness.

"Just out of curiosity, do you have any other names? Book of Darkness is a bit of a mouthful," asked Ichigo.

_**(Previous designation is Tome of Night Sky, Master,)**_ said the book, rather happy he had bothered to ask.

"Okay, Night Sky, can you teleport me to Mid-Childa? I'm going to see about getting those broken programs of yours replaced or fixed," asked Ichigo.

_**(It can be done, my Master,)**_ said Night Sky.

A familiar magic circle appeared under him, as he used what few pages were in the book from him to teleport to Mid-Childa.

By the time the Knights learned where Ichigo had really gone from Isshin, it was already too late to stop him.

Ichigo's first thought of Mid-Childa was that it was big. Mages walked like everyday people, and familiars walked around everywhere. He liked it immediately.

Ichigo was glad they spoke the same language, it would have been very awkward otherwise. Finally someone directed him to a shop that repaired broken devices.

"Excuse me," said Ichigo when he reached the counter.

"Hello young man! What can I do for you?" said the old man.

"Do you know where I can go to get an old Belkan device repaired? My mother left it to me and when I had it checked out a few of the programs were pretty damaged," said Ichigo. It wasn't a lie, more like an obscured truth.

"Afraid I can't help you there. We specialize in Mid-Childa devices only."

"Darn."

"However, you might find help at the St. Kaiser's Church. They still follow the old Belkan traditions there, they might be able to help you."

"Where is this Church?"

"You'll have to hail a cab. It's fair distance away," said the old man.

"Is it too much trouble for me to ask that you call one? This is actually my first time in Mid-Childa."

"What sort of currency you use?" asked the old man immediately.

Ichigo showed him, and the man shook his head.

"You'll have to get it converted at the bank first. That looks like Non-Administered world currency and no one will take it off world."

Ichigo got directions to the nearest bank and an hour later had all of his cash converted to the currency used in Mid-Childa. It was surprisingly reasonable, but he didn't have time to dwell on it.

One of the tellers called a cab for him, since he had no clue how to use the phone and he was on his way to the St. Kaiser Church.

Signum was not happy. Not one bit. Their Master had ditched them for the day and had gone off to who knows where with the Book.

She would almost fear that he was handing it over to the TSAB, if it weren't for a few facts.

One, the book was something left behind by his mother, who he had been extremely close to. He wouldn't throw something like that away. Two, they lived on a world that the TSAB had no official presence in, and the chances of a reward for turning the book in wouldn't have any appeal when the reward couldn't be used. Plus Ichigo didn't strike her as that type.

But the biggest factor was that Ichigo had admitted to Vita that he viewed them as part of his small family, even going so far as to treat Vita like one of his sisters. He had even bought the girl a rabbit doll she had taken a liking to.

Shamal had been taking classes to be a real doctor to avoid trouble. Signum actually liked teaching classes and Zafira acted like the family pet.

Signum had even started teaching Ichigo how to use a sword at his request. He was rather good, for an amateur just now learning how to use one.

Plus Ichigo was the type of person who would do anything to protect his family, even if it meant killing.

He was completely different from their previous masters...he actually cared about them!

So it was only natural they have a minor freak out when they learn he wasn't even on the planet anymore!

Ichigo woke up when the car slowed down...the old man hadn't been kidding when he said it was too far to walk.

"How much do I owe you?" yawned Ichigo.

The cab driver gave him an amount, and Ichigo barely resisted wincing. It would wipe out nearly all his available funds.

Ichigo paid him and looked at the church. It was big, easily cathedral sized.

"Welcome to St. Kaiser's Church. How may I help you?" asked one of the sisters.

"Do you know anyone who can fix old Belkan devices? I found one that my mother had, but when I had it looked at several of the programs needed to be replaced," said Ichigo. That was his story , since Signum had mentioned the TSAB hated them for what previous masters had them do.

That was why he had left them behind, even though it would have been more reassuring to have one of them with him.

"What sort of device? And how old is it?" asked another Sister, this one with a different uniform. She had been passing by.

"It's really old, I don't know how old. It also had a Knight system attached that's been damaged, though not to the extent the defense system was," said Ichigo promptly.

"Why don't you come inside?" she suggested.

The room was quiet with shock when Ichigo pulled out a familiar book which had been the bane of the TSAB for years now.

"The Book of Darkness," said Sister Carim in shock.

"According to her, the real name is Tome of the Night Sky. I found out that the programs were damaged by accident, and I though it would be better to see an expert before I attempted to use it," explained Ichigo.

"Are you the current master?" asked Carim.

"According to the Knights, yes. The moment I found out about the damage, I made plans to come to Mid-Childa to have it repaired. I haven't ordered them to attack anyone because I didn't want the trouble," said Ichigo. He was rather calm, considering.

"Why didn't you go to the TSAB? Wouldn't it be easier to hand it over?" asked Carim.

"My mother had this book shortly before she was killed. I'm keeping it because of that. Besides, the Knights are like family now," said Ichigo in return.

"I'm sorry for your loss. But it is a reasonable question. So why did you come here?"

"Like I said, I wanted to get the book repaired before I even consider using it. If the defense and reincarnation programs are as badly shredded as I saw by accident, then using it could be too risky. And when I asked around, they referred me to the Church," said Ichigo.

"Well, I suppose we could take a look. Perhaps you can help erase the stigma this poor device had been given by previous Masters," said Carim kindly.


	3. Red String of Fate Chapter Two

Power exploded from the hole, as Ichigo shot out. Ai shielded her eyes from the sight with her hand. There in the cloud of dust, was Ichigo. He had a bone white and blood red mask on his face, and on his back was a familiar sword. Ichigo pulled the broken sword from the scabbard...and shattered the mask. He took his first breath as a true soul reaper and his eyes landed on Ai first.

"I'm back," he said.

"Welcome back...Ichigo-kun," said Ai.

"Now while we wait for Tessai to come out, why don't you and I proceed to the third phase Ichigo-kun? There's no time limit," said Urahara grinning. Ichigo smirked and smashed the hilt of his blade into Urahara's face. Ai tried not to giggle.

While Urahara chased Ichigo around the training ground, Tessai changed his glasses and started Ai on the kido basics. She was a very quick learner. Her specialty was unsurprisingly anything that involved flames.

Every day, Ichigo and Ai trained. Ichigo learned about how to use his sword, and Ai swiftly moved from the basics to the somewhat higher level kido spells.

By the time they were to go to the Soul Society, Ai had managed to get to the spells in the upper twenties.

* * *

"_She's going to the soul society of her own will! They're heading for a rescue of a soul reaper!" _said the youngest voice in a near panic. They couldn't loose their master twice.

"_We have to stop them!"_ said the woman. She was just as upset, having been turned into a youkai instead of becoming a hollow or passing on. She sometimes wondered what would have happened had she been allowed to pass on like most other souls instead of being turned.

"_We have no way to the Soul Society. And even if we did, our presence would draw attention faster than anything they could do."_

"_What are we going to do, Wanyuudo? If we let her go there, they could kill her for what she is!" _asked the woman.

"_**There is another solution."**_

As one, the three spirits, Hone-On'na, Ichimokuren, and Wanyuudo turned to the new voice. There was a presence in the house where Ai once lived. It was their meeting spot, since it had been vacated and was one of the few placed humans couldn't interrupt them. It was also safe from the Soul Society.

"Who's there?" asked Wanyuudo.

"_**You do not need to know who I am. Just that I can give you the chance to protect your Master,"**_ said the voice.

"In exchange for what?" asked Hone-On'na.

They could feel the smirk.

"_**In exchange for angering a certain spider. There is a way to save your Master from the spider's influence once and for all, but she must agree to it in her own voice. However, this will mean she will never be free of Hell's influence."**_

"What does it involve?" asked Ichimokuren, before the others could speak.

"_**Hell is one of the three Spirit Kingdoms, yet unlike Hueco Mundo or the Soul Society it does not have anyone governing it. That is why I am giving Ai a choice. She can either become Hell Girl and lose her chance at freedom, or become the Princess of Hell and insure that spirits never escape."**_

"What exactly does becoming Hell's Princess involve?"asked Hone -On'na.

"_**Hell essentially governs itself, but occasionally a soul manages to get out and cause havoc in the living realm. Most soul reapers wouldn't be able to deal with those souls with the exception of a few captain-class spirits. In order to keep the peace, Ai would essentially be acting as warden and hunter of any escaped souls. Other than dealing with the escaped ones, she is free to live as she pleases."**_

"She won't be forced to ferry souls to hell anymore?" asked Wanyuudo.

"_**A new Hell Girl will be picked. She is not the first. However Ai will retain her previous powers of her former position and have dominion over any new Hell Girl's who misuse their powers."**_

"How can we protect her now, when she is about to go to the Soul Society?" asked Hone-On'na.

"_**There is a way. You will become a part of her powers, and it will be impossible to separate you three from her again. Not even the spider will be able to undo it."**_

"What do you have in mind?" asked Wanyuudo.

The presence smiled.

"_**What do you know about Zanpakuto?"**_

* * *

"Ai-chan!" called Orihime. It was the festival before they were about to go to the Soul Society. Their last break before the battles to come.

Ai smiled and waved to Orihime. She was wearing a summer yukuta that Isshin had found just for her. It was black and had red spider lilies. Ai wandered around the booths with Orihime while Ichigo watched over his twin sisters for the night. Isshin had a booth out in the fair grounds where those too drunk to safely get around were laying down until a cab could take them home.

It was a summer tradition, running the booth. In exchange for a thousand ryo (which covered the cab fare) the drunks could relax away from the noise and lights. Those who took Isshin up on this trick also left with a card that had the clinic's name, number and address.

It was how the Kurosaki Clinic got it's first start, running these booths.

Ai had a lot of fun. But it was at the last booth that she paused in the games.

Three straw dolls, red, black and blue, all with a thin red string around their necks. They were really well made too.

"What are you looking at Ai-chan?" asked Tatsuki. She had never been sure of Ai, mostly because even though Ichigo had just met her, he had no issues remembering her name or face. That was unusual enough to warrant her interest.

After Ai helped save Orihime, Tatsuki decided to give her a chance.

"Ah! I see you've found our recreation of the Hell Girl dolls!" said the stand owner.

"Hell Girl dolls?" asked Orihime.

"The Jigoku Shoujo is said to have three straw dolls which people untie the strings from. Someone apparently made replicas because they couldn't get the sight of the dolls out of their mind," said the stand owner.

"How much for all three?" asked Ai.

"1,500 ryo. You're the first person who's been interested in any of them," said the stand owner.

Ai handed over the bills and placed the dolls in her little bag with the other prizes.

The dolls...felt so familiar. She just wished she knew what happened to those three.

* * *

"Are we sure about this?" asked Hone-On'na.

"There is no other way to protect Ojou-sama," said Wanyuudo.

"I have no problems with this. At least we know she cares about us to never betray us. Why shouldn't we show the same devotion?" asked Ichimokuren.

"Of course you wouldn't mind! You're a sword spirit for crying out loud!" said Hone-On'na irritably.

"Who do you think is going to be forming the main shape of the sword?" retorted Ren.

"He has a point," said Wanyuudo.

"Besides, it's not like we aren't used to uncomfortable forms," said Ren.

"I know, it's just that I've never heard of a soul reaper with three spirits in one sword before."

"I've heard of a lieutenant with two spirits in one sword. And there are two captain-class with twin swords."

"Still..."

"If you don't want to do it, you don't have to Hone-On'na," Wanyuudo reminded her.

"I'm in...but I wanted to get my uneasiness out now before it was too late to end this."

"Fair enough," said Ren.

"We have a lot of ground to cover if we are to insure that she doesn't leave for the Soul Society alone," said Wanyuudo.

And with that, the three vanished for Karakura.

* * *

Ai stood before the spirit converter that would allow them to enter the Soul Society without having to die first. As it was, only Ai and Ichigo could have entered normally.

Ichigo had been turned into his soul reaper form...and Ai, well she was in her favorite black outfit. The same one that she had been wearing when she first met Ichigo.

She had a small bag around her shoulder that had a first aid kit courtesy of Isshin who was well aware of his son's nighttime activities, the three straw dolls she bought at the stand, enough food to last a few days, several bottles of water, some books to read, and hair ties that Karin had helped her find because she had noted how often Ai's hair got into her face.

"Everyone ready to leave?" asked Urahara.

Not a single word was spoken. However before Ai went in, Urahara handed her something. She never had a chance to look at it before she raced down the path behind Ichigo.

The first bit of trouble didn't come because of Ichigo's brashness, but because of Ai's presence.

Someone she vaguely remembered offering to collect vengeance for recognized her and raised a stink. It was only because Ichigo threatened to cut the man's head off that they were able to leave. Yoruichi felt that it would better that they went to Shiba's place early.

"Yo, Yoruichi," said Kukaku.

"Kukaku," said the cat.

The two sat in silence for a good five minutes. No words were spoken, but you could tell that they were conversing.

"Alright, you lot can stay here. But first I need to have a word with the girlie here," said Kukaku.

"Uh, me?" said Orihime.

"I mean her," said Kukaku, pointed at Ai.

"Me? Why?"

"Just come with me," said Kukaku.

Ai followed her and when Kukaku closed the door, she turned to the girl.

"I really wouldn't have recommended coming here girlie. The Soul Society really hates the Hell Girls, even if the people who use their service are bound for hell eventually. If they find out you used to be one, you'll be in serious danger."

"I barely have any memories of my time as Hell Girl. When I refused to send an innocent to hell, I was released from service. Ichigo saved me."

"So that's why you follow Berry-boy?"

"He was also about the only thing I remember before I had my memories stolen. His family welcomed me with open arms and didn't find me creepy."

"I'll give you that much, he at least shows more honor than most of these lame-ass nobles. I suppose I can at least give you some help. What's your element, if you have any?"

"Fire. So far all it manifests as black flames, which Urahara-san said belongs specifically to high-level Hellmaster spirits."

"Hell Girls rank high enough to use that. Though very few have if I remember correctly. Usually they only use it to deal with adjuchas or high-level soul reapers who mistake them for human spirits."

"I've been having trouble controlling it," admitted Ai.

"Since you're no longer a Hell Girl, it makes sense that it's going to be heavily limited. Fortunately I happen to be a fire-type user myself. Not to mention I have tons of tricks up my sleeve."

Ai nodded, and Kukaku taught her a few tricks she could use as well as loaded her up with some of her special fireworks. She also included a small book on how to use them properly and three incantations.

She wasn't going to give Ai a lot, but it was more than most would get.

When Yoruichi brought it up with her friend, she got a not-so-surprising answer.

Apparently Kukaku knew how much the nobles of the Soul Society hated Hell Girls, so by helping Ai she was royally pissing them off. And Kukaku _really_ hated the Soul Society nobility after they snubbed her one too many times, despite being a noble herself.

Ai certainly didn't have any issue with it.

* * *

"So what's your opinion of the girlie?" asked Kukaku, drinking her sake.

"She's very...devoted...to Ichigo. I very much doubt that she would let anything stand in her way if it meant helping him. From what I heard from Isshin, Ichigo literally raced to her side the moment he felt she was in danger and rescued her. And afterwords he was the only one she remembered from her previous life as a Hell Girl."

"Bet that Kuchiki brat wasn't too happy about it," snorted Kukaku. She had it in for Rukia Kuchiki after what happened to her brother Kaein.

"She didn't know what Ai was, only that for some reason Ichigo needed to be by her side. I think those two have a Soul Bond," said Yoruichi.

"A Soul Bond? Those are a myth to tell the nobles," said Kukaku.

"Ichigo lived three miles away from where he rescued her, and he was still in his human body when he raced to her side. Even with his absurd strength, the only possible way he could have made it in time was if his spirit energy was linked up to hers enough that he could warp space," said Yoruichi flatly.

Yoruichi had gone to investigate it herself. Even with Flash Step, it had taken three hours to reach that spot from the Kurosaki Clinic. And that was without stopping. Yet Ichigo had reached the Lovely Hills community in forty-five minutes flat, according to his watch, when it took Isshin four hours to drive there to pick up the group.

However, if the two had Soul Bonded to a high enough level and their spiritual pressure had synced up, then the chances that his absurd amount of spiritual pressure _could_ have warped space around him enough to actually get there in time to save Ai from the mob. That would also explain why he had enough energy to beat the mob back. A normal human riding that hard on open road would barely have the strength to do anything unless something was boosting their energy.

"I don't know. A Soul Bond is extremely rare, and the level of trust that is required is nearly impossible to find."

"I think the only issue of trust comes from Ichigo's end. He knew he needed to save Ai, but he doesn't know why. If I have to, I will explain things clearly to him so he realizes that in order to stop this he will have to rely on her to back him up when he needs it most."

"Yeah, Berry-boy doesn't look like the type to realize he needs help," said Kukaku.

"I think Byakuya will convince him of it when they cross swords properly," said Yoruichi dryly. She took a sip of her sake as the sounds of explosion was heard beneath them.

It wasn't a problem until Ichigo figured it out and shook the entire house because he had no control over his own powers...


	4. Soul of the Night Sky Chapter Two

Carim looked at the monitor.

Ichigo hadn't been joking when he said that several programs had been shredded. Fortunately they had caught it early enough to fix it before it really became a problem.

"Ichigo-san, would you do us a favor and activate the Administrator's rights to the book? If we're going to replace the broken programs, we'll need the authorization of the Master to do so," said Carim.

"Um, how do I do that? I barely knew how to travel here, and the Tome was doing most of the work," said Ichigo.

Carim smiled and had Ichigo stand next to the Tome.

"Just say 'Activate Administrator's Rights'. That will get things started."

"Uh, activate Administrator's rights?" said Ichigo.

_**(Administrator's rights now active. New programs are nearby.)**_

"Replace broken programs and repair the Knight's program," said Ichigo calmly.

_**(Reincarnation program is currently running. Impossible to replace.)**_

"That is one of the biggest problems of the book, and it's considered the reason why it was called the Book of Darkness rather than it's real name."

"Is it possible to delete that program?"

_**(Deletion is impossible at this point. Program must be stopped before deletion is possible.)**_

"Well that is a problem. How in the world are we supposed to stop that program?" said Carim.

"I have an idea. Night Sky, is it possible to do a forced 'Restart'?"

"What is a restart?" asked Carim.

"Whenever my computer freezes at home, I simply restart it and it clears out the active memory. If that doesn't work I call a repair man," explained Ichigo.

The book seemed to get what Ichigo was trying to say.

_**(Reboot of systems is possible. All programs would stop. Would you like to reboot now?)**_

"Reboot systems."

The book's subtle hum stopped for a moment, and a few minutes passed before it started again.

_**(Time before Reincarnation program restarts, one minute. Would you like to delete?)**_

"Delete program!" said Ichigo.

_**(Reincarnation program is now being deleted from program files. Please wait before adding new programs.)**_

It took an hour before the program was fully purged from the book. During that time, Ichigo had called his family through an inter-dimensional phone to say he would be late in getting back. It would likely be the next day before he even returned home, because he wasn't leaving the book here.

_**(Program Purge completed.)**_

"Let's see... We can upgrade the Knight system, the defense program will have to be fully replaced, and the spell library could use an upgrade. But now that the reincarnation program has been taken out, it looks like the Tome of the Night Sky isn't running any programs to drain the user," said Angelica.

"Drain the user?"

"It appears that the reincarnation program was set to drain the user if it didn't collecting pages within three months. It would slowly paralyze the Master until it was completed, and within a few hours would go out of control and rampage until it was taken out. The only way to stop it was through a magical cannon called Arc-en-Ciel, which only an Admiral or higher could fire," said Angelica.

"How do you know that?" asked Ichigo.

"Because that's how it was dealt with for the past few Masters. The last time it appeared, it took over a TSAB ship and the captain was killed," said Carim.

Ichigo winced. No wonder Signum had mentioned there was bad blood with the TSAB.

"Let's see...this should be done fixing and updating the programs within a few hours. In the meantime, why don't you go have dinner?"

"I did take a nap on the way up here..." admitting Ichigo. Plus his feet were killing him. Even with the program no longer draining him, it would take a while for the paralyzing feeling to go away.

Since he was actually doing the Church a big favor by healing the Tome of the Night Sky (apparently it was regarded as one of the most notable Belkan artifacts, so every time it caused trouble there was some minor backwash to the Church) he didn't have to pay for the parts. Good thing too, because he didn't think his dad had the money to pay for them all.

Plus there was the added fact that Signum spoke Ancient Belkan, which was a rarity these days. Having someone from the wars would prove a boon later.

* * *

The next morning, Ichigo prepared to do another teleport home...as long as he was willing to devote a few weekends to training in the Belkan form of magic anyway. He didn't mind, as the use of swords in their magic practice interested him greatly, and it would be good to have more than one teacher.

A few of the Sisters even donated some of their magic so he could at least make it home safely. They were given paid vacation, so it worked out just fine for all involved.

Ichigo deftly ducked his father's welcome back kick (he had years of practice) but he was unable to avoid the looks Signum and the others were giving him.

"Ichigo-san, where did you go?" asked Signum a little too calmly. He winced.

"I went to get something fixed," he answered.

The pins and needles feeling had gotten worse, not better. It would be a while before he could safely go to P.E. without limping. He pulled out the Tome of the Night Sky, and all the knights looked at it.

"Where did you go, Ichi-nii?" asked Karin.

"I found out by accident that several programs in the book were wrecked beyond repair. One of the bad programs was the knight system, which needed some remodeling. Apparently the reincarnation program corrupted nearly all the other programs in the book," said Ichigo.

"What?" said Shamal.

"The reincarnation program in the book. It was like a virus and it corrupted nearly all the systems in the device. I noticed it while I was doing maintenance on my computer so I had the Tome of the Night Sky take me to Mid-Childa. It's been repaired, so now it's safe to use again," repeated Ichigo.

"You went to Mid-Childa?!" said Signum and the others in shock.

"Why else would I have left you behind? Because you mentioned the bad blood between you and the mage association, I felt it would be easier to get the book repaired without having you there to draw attention," said Ichigo. He was massaging his legs, which were murdering him.

"Your legs bothering you again?" said Karin.

"It'll be fine...I hope."

"How long have your legs been hurting you?" said Shamal immediately.

"For at least a month or so. I thought it was some sort of growth spurt pain or something," admitted Ichigo.

"Growth spurts don't hurt you enough that you have to massage your limbs," said Isshin.

Shamal took out Klarwind and had it examine Ichigo.

"The book encroachment must be causing this. It has a nasty habit of draining the master if they aren't filling the pages fast enough for it," said Shamal.

"Probably that program I had deleted. They mentioned something to that affect when I brought it in," said Ichigo.

"You are staying home today and tomorrow. I don't like the look of this," said Isshin firmly.

"Fine by me," said Ichigo. He needed a long nap anyway.

A week later, Ichigo was cleared to go back to school. Apparently deleting the reincarnation program not only stopped the encroachment, but it reversed it. Thankfully it hadn't been active that long, as it had taken a while for the program to work past Ichigo's spirit energy.

And, like Ichigo had told them repeatedly, the book was no longer broken. Apparently the whole problem had been the reincarnation program running amok.

With the book fixed, it was no longer imperative that they collect pages for the book. And so the days passed peacefully, until a fateful day in May changed everything again...

* * *

Signum was less than pleased with the addition of one Kuchiki Rukia in the house. They were at least accepted by the family because while the Kurosaki clan accepted the idea of magic and being bound to a book, they also didn't harbor freeloaders.

Signum had taken the semi-permanent position as Physical Education teacher and was the part-time assistant of the first one. She mostly helped the kendo club with their forms, being familiar with swords herself.

Shamal had practically flown through the medical courses given to her by Ryuusuke Ishida, the director of the nearest hospital and colleague of Isshin. Thanks to that she was a certified doctor, despite having fake papers. She worked at the clinic, helping Isshin when needed.

Vita was the 'bodyguard' of the Kurosaki twins, so Ichigo wouldn't worry about his sisters. Unofficially she was their 'cousin from abroad', according to Karin. She actually enjoyed school and was a member of the martial arts club. Because of her age, she shared a room with the twins, who viewed her as a third sibling.

Zafira was the family pet. He guarded the clinic against all outsiders who sought to harm the family. The only thing he really did was go on walks with the girls in his 'puppy' form and occasionally do the grocery shopping, pretending to have just come back from a cosplay club.

Considering this was Japan they were in, most people bought that excuse when they saw his ears and odd outfit.

But Rukia...she had just barged into their lives with no warning and no intention of actually letting the rest of the family know she was there.

In short, she was a freeloader and Zafira had caught her trying to hide in the futon cupboard that happened to be in Ichigo's room a few days after the incident with the hollow.

Ichigo's power had been unlocked, and several pages had appeared in the book without warning.

* * *

Ichigo had barely refrained from laughing his ass off when Signum dragged Rukia (biting and kicking no less) from the closet where she had been staying for the past two days.

He really did laugh when Karin lit into the midget and Yuzu gave the weakened Soul Reaper the disapproving puppy eyes when she learned where her clothes had vanished to.

In his mind, this was just desserts for the hell she gave him when she came to his school earlier and the fight.

Rukia was just surprised someone had noticed her there when Ichigo hadn't.

"Now, little Soul Reaper, would you care to explain what you're still doing here even though you gave Ichigo your power that took out that monster?" asked Signum.

"I never meant to give him all of it!" she protested, shrinking under the less than happy gaze of Signum. She was surrounded by those who could kill her and not think twice. As weakened as she was, she knew one wrong word and she was toast.

"Ten pages showed up after she gave me her power. I saw the book lighting up from the window," said Ichigo raising his hand.

"Not surprising. By sharing her power, you essentially absorbed her linker core as well as her soul reaper powers by mistake. Her spells are now yours," said Shamal.

"Hold on a minute! What's a linker core? And what do you mean my spells are his now?!" she said in protest. Some of her kido could do some real damage in the wrong hands.

"That's the least of your worries right now," said Isshin.

"Dad?" said Ichigo in confusion.

"By sharing her powers, she's put everyone in the house at risk. There is a law, a very old one, that explicitly states a soul reaper cannot share their power with someone living. It could upset the balance," said Isshin.

Rukia flinched. She had wanted to keep that to herself. It was bad enough she lost almost all her powers and was stuck in this stupid gigai.

"How would you know that, Isshin-oyaji?" asked Vita.

Isshin had gotten Vita to call him old man as a joke, and the name had stuck. Considering they were part of the family now (and to further bring that point up, they were invited to the yearly visit to the gravesite where Masaki Kurosaki was laid to rest) it suited him.

"Let's just say I have some experience in the matter and leave it at that," said Isshin.

"Now, Kuchiki-san, care to explain to us _exactly_ what is going on?" said Signum. Zafira was barely resisting the urge to growl.

Rukia gulped, and explained most of why she was still around.

Apparently because Ichigo had almost all her powers, she had lost the ability to open the gateway. As far as the Soul Society knew, she had gotten badly injured and was in a gigai for the moment. Fortunately it hadn't been that long so they were still buying that lie.

In the meantime, Ichigo would have to take her place as Soul Reaper until she could return home.

She was hoping that her powers returned quickly so she could hide the fact she had given some to Ichigo in the first place. In the meantime she would attend school to avoid suspicion.

Signum was less than pleased by this development... and that only grew when she challenged Rukia to test her sword skills.

In the words of Signum, Rukia barely ranked above an amateur like Ichigo skill wise. She clearly needed to work on her sword skills.

Rukia was more or less dragged into the kendo club where Signum supervised and turned into Signum's new favorite practice dummy to the relief of Ichigo.

Whether Rukia liked it or not didn't matter to her, Signum just couldn't stand the fact Rukia relied on her sword spirit so much that she hadn't even bothered to hone what little skill she had from the Academy.

In the words of Shamal, when she figured out what element Rukia was from the sword spells now in the book, it was the snowflake going up against the inferno.

Rukia was doomed from the start.

* * *

The TSAB finally figured out that the 'Book of Darkness' was once again active over a year after Ichigo had first meet the Knights.

The fact that the knights weren't attacking anyone had puzzled them.

The only reason that they had even picked up on this development was that Signum was training Ichigo in magic outside Karakura, and there happened to be a ship with sensors active in the area above Japan.

It took them exactly a month for representatives to show up in Karakura, which was more than enough time for Ichigo to deal with problems that Rukia had unwittingly spawned by making him a substitute soul reaper for the town.

Problems like Chad and that possessed bird, Orihime and her dead brother... it just gave Ichigo a headache. Then there was that whole mess with Grand Fisher, who Ichigo recognized as being the same one who killed his beloved mother.

If he lost his temper and became enraged, well, none of the Knights faulted him for it.

They did learn a very interesting tidbit.

Belkan magic could harm hollows, but not actually kill them. The hollow had run with it's tail between it's legs from the blows Signum, Vita and Ichigo had dealt it. Ichigo was still peeved that he hadn't been able to kill the monster though, especially since Zafira and Vita had such trouble protecting the girls while he had to deal with another soul reaper who had come to find Rukia.

(Shamal and Signum had been with Isshin at the time.)

This would be one encounter that had Ichigo wishing he had brought headache relievers for.


	5. Naru Kurosaki Chapter One

"_NARUTO!"_

"_SASUKE!"_

Two powers clashed in a sound akin to thunder. Kakashi, their teacher, ran even faster to the battle. When he got there, he saw Sasuke fleeing the scene, his headband gone. But it was his other student that had him worried.

Naruto was lying unconscious in a pool of his own blood. His pack, which had been stuffed full of things for a trip with Jiraiya tomorrow, lay beside him. Next to it was a bloodied headband, the leaf carelessly scratched out. Naruto's headband was tied half-hazardly, and looked like it was about to fall off.

Before Kakashi could get to his student, a flash of light, which had been growing ever since the Chidori and Rasengan clashed, began to grow at an alarming rate. Kakashi tried to reach his student, but the light enveloped Naruto before he could get near him.

All that was left was Sasuke's headband, and a large pool of quickly cooling blood...

* * *

Isshin stared at his current patient. The boy had appeared without warning inside their clinic, and Karin had been very quick to get him. The boy had a large hole in his chest, which was healing at an abnormal rate. There would undoubtedly be a scar later, if he lived through it. There was also a very large bump on his head. If he didn't come out of the coma he was in without amnesia, he would be very surprised.

Two weeks later, Karin took off the bandages...and noticed the kid was stirring.

"DAD! He's waking up!" yelled Karin.

Isshin walked into the room just as the blond was waking up. The scar on his chest was a lot smaller than he would had thought. The bump had vanished a few hours after he had treated the kid, but it was hard to tell whether he would remember anything.

"Ow...where...am I?"

"Glad to see you're awake. You're in our clinic. Do you know your name, or your home address so we can get a hold of your parents?" asked Isshin.

He had tried everything to find this kid's family, and it all returned negative. Not even the few ninja villages knew who he was.

(Isshin only knew where they were because he sometimes treated the few people who came into town for supplies. They liked him because he didn't ask questions aside from whether or not it was an internal matter. He rarely had to call the cops.)

"I...can't remember..."

"Not surprising, with a lump like that. Do you know where you can stay? Or any place familiar?"

The kid looked out the window. Upon seeing his confusion at the passing cars, Isshin quickly ruled out the city. The kid was definitely from a very small village at the least.

Once it was clear that the boy hadn't suffered from any severe brain trauma, he debated on what to do with him. It was pretty obvious that the boy would have some difficulty adjusting to society.

Before he turned off the light in the clinic, he noticed something odd. The boy who was half asleep looked different...almost feral.

Isshin paused, and looked at the boy straight in the eye.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"**My name...is Kurama."**

Isshin knew something was up now. The kid's eyes were a bloody red, and the odd whisker marks were thickened.

"Who is the boy? And what are you?"

"**The boy...is my container. And I...am a demon. A nine-tailed fox to be precise."**

"Why...?" started Isshin.

Kurama looked at him amused.

"**You wish to know why I am so calm? Why the boy is a container of a demon fox?"**

Isshin nodded.

"**The day this boy was born, I was forced to attack his village. Someone had placed his mother in a state of near death. His father died sealing me into his son, while his mother died from the claw I had in her body. For the last fourteen years of his life, he was hated, shunned and attacked for being my container. It is only recently that he has gained even a small measure of respect."**

"Why? Why would anyone do that to a child?"

"**Humans are foolish creatures. Because I was forced to attack their village and in the process killed their loved ones, they blame an innocent for my actions. I used the energy generated from an attack that he had used on his best friend to give him even a remote chance of a happy childhood...whatever was left of it anyway."**

Isshin had nothing to say to that. He left the room after turning off the lights, and Kurama went back into his seal. The next day, when the children were at school, he spoke to Kurama again. And learned more about the boy that had fallen into their world.

Naruto had a sad life indeed, and it would only become worse before it got better. He kept trying so hard just for a small amount of respect, which was unlikely to even occur. Kurama was perfectly calm, even polite, but Isshin held no illusions about the demon fox. It was quite clear that Kurama wouldn't hesitate to kill anyone who harmed his container.

* * *

Two days after his discussion with the fox, Isshin offered to have Naru stay at the clinic to work off whatever debt he felt owed for saving him from that wound he had. Naru eagerly accepted the offer, since he didn't have any money to pay for his treatment.

A full month after being found in the clinic, Isshin brought up something with his kids.

Karin liked Naru and so did Yuzu. Ichigo treated Naru like a younger brother, which wasn't surprising considering the kid was a few months younger than he was, but was more mature for his age group.

It was little wonder Ichigo took to him, because they were so alike.

Since it was clear Naru didn't have any family to speak of, and all leads they had went dead rather quick, he wanted to know how they felt about Naru becoming an official part of the family.

The twins were all for it, and surprisingly so was Ichigo. Naru was extremely helpful around the house, and he got along well with the family.

It was a very short vote.

Two weeks later, the adoption was official. Naru was now Naru Kurosaki.

The blond couldn't be happier about the news. He had been going to Ichigo's school for nearly a month, and had quickly caught up to the current grade level with Ichigo's patient help.

It seemed that while he couldn't remember a thing about who he was (only bits and pieces that were never really helpful) his IQ more than made up for it. Ichigo really wanted to beat up whoever taught Naru basic maths. He was so behind it took almost the entire month to get him up to speed. Naru was behind in almost every subject except physical education.

In that subject he even trumped Ichigo and his friend Chad.

* * *

Naru just relaxed on the riverbank. It was his day off, and Ichigo was out doing his thing. Karin and Yuzu had told him to relax for a day while they cleaned house. In reality they were helping Ichigo put a new bed in his room, since he didn't mind sharing with his new little brother. They wanted it to be a surprise to Naru.

As he lay back watching clouds, his mind brought forth a memory of doing this exact same thing...but he wasn't alone that time. There was someone with a pineapple style ponytail laying next to him, and a boy munching on chips beside him. Two names came to those faces.

Shikamaru...and Chouji. Two of his closest friends.

His mind didn't let up. A few more images came to mind. A girl with pale lavender eyes that made his heart race for some reason. A boy with a dog on his head that brought to mind images of pranks. A boy who commanded bugs. A boy with a shield of sand that resembled a tanuki. A girl with a large fan. A girl who used countless amounts of weapons. A man with a scar across his face with a warm smile. A father and daughter cooking ramen and smiling at him. A trio of precocious little kids who followed him like ducklings.

Most of their names came to mind along with the visions of their face. He treasured each of these people, because they were the first hint of memory he had for nearly two months.

Hinata Hyuuga. Kiba Inuzuka. Shino Aburame. Subaku no Gaara. Temari. Tenten. Iruka-sensei. Old Man Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame. The Konohamaru corps.

All of these people brought warm feelings to his chest. Yet he still couldn't remember his own name. Images of these people also brought knowledge of something important. Something he had forgotten but was allowed to remember.

Climbing trees without hands.

He sat up and stretched. Spotting a grove of trees nearby, he decided to try what his memories provided. He didn't see the harm in it.

Placing his hands in a strange form, which felt very, very familiar to him, he began to climb. He almost fell down when he found himself on the top of the tree...and he hadn't used his hands once! He sat on a thick branch...and looked at his feet. A pale blue glow was on his shoes, and every time touched it, it felt sticky like glue.

A name came for this energy of his. Chakra. An amalgamation of spiritual and physical energy. The two combined to create something bigger when used properly in the correct amounts of both.

Somehow he knew that this...tree climbing thing...helped to regulate the amount of chakra he had in his body. It helped to minimize the effort in which he used it.

Another odd exercise came to mind that involved water. Jumping down from the branch...and landing perfectly on his feet with ease, Naru walked over to the river.

Placing a single foot on the water, he took a step. And nearly fell in with shock.

He was walking on water like it was ground! An inner knowledge that this was normal came to him, and he relaxed.

This was a more advanced version of walking on trees. He had to constantly regulate his chakra to walk on the water. He remembered doing this before, and it was much harder.

He could also figure out why that was, because he got memories back about how excitable he was before he lost his memories. He was still antsy, like he needed to move just to stay still, but he had an outlet for that energy by joining the Karate team with Ichigo's friend Tatsuki.

Tatsuki liked him because he was one of the few new recruits that treated her with respect. Some of the other boys looked down upon her because she was a girl, but Naru followed her lead without question.

By the time the sun set, Naru had already walked along the river and back. He found running on the water as if it was ground rather fun. He realized that he could do it without falling in as long as he didn't think about regulated this chakra. He ran as fast as he could back to the house...and to his shock he was home in five minutes! He was several miles from the clinic.

"Welcome home, Naru-nii! Did you have fun by the river?" asked Yuzu.

"Yup! Climbing trees was a lot of fun," said Naru.

* * *

After that day near the river, bits and pieces kept coming back to him. At first it was a trickle, but it quickly became a flood. Out of all of it, memories of his own history remained a blank. Every time he felt like he would get something back it seemed like something was holding it back for a reason.

After a while, he quit caring. Though he did wonder why there were blurs around a few people. Like a pink haired girl and a raven haired boy. Every time their image came up, he felt a deep fear and anger.

Especially when he thought of the raven haired boy. A dull ache came whenever he thought of that boy. Somehow, he knew that the boy was responsible for the scar on his chest.

Naru found himself training in secret in the forests...he just felt at home there. Ichigo sometimes came with him, and occasionally he joined him. Ichigo was surprised at how strong Naru was...and was surprised that his stances were so sloppy. Ichigo didn't mind correcting them.

* * *

It had been six months since Naru had come to live with the Kurosaki clan...and he had remembered an odd skill of his.

Ichigo watched with interest as Naru used the hand signs with practiced ease. He had seen what Naru called jutsu before, but it always amazed him.

Naru called out in a half remembered daze: "Summoning Jutsu!"

Ichigo coughed at the smoke...then stared.

"Is that...a toad?"

"I think so. Pretty cool!"

"BOSS! Where have you been? Jiraiya's been lookin' all over for ya!" said the toad.

"It...can talk."

"Of course I can talk! What summon animal can't?!" said the toad indignant.

"Sorry, I've never seen a summon animal before."

"Wait, who's Jiraiya?" asked Naru.

"Who's Jiraiya? He's one of your teachers! The one you like to call Pervy Sage!" said the toad in shock.

"Naru can barely remember anything. He took quite a knock to the head six months back, and he can't even remember his name," Ichigo explained.

"So that's why you haven't contacted anyone. They've been going nuts since you went missing in that light ball."

"Light ball? I could barely remember a thing before waking up in the clinic!"

"Naru appeared out of nowhere with a deep hole in his chest and a serious blow to the head."

"Well I'll try to fill in some of the blanks for ya then. Your name is Naruto Uzumaki, and you're a genin of Konohagakure. Your birthday is October the tenth and your sensei is Kakashi Hatake."

"Wait, his name is Naruto? I wondered why dad named you Naru."

"So do ya have any letters I could send back to let them know you're still alive?" asked the toad.

"Hang on a sec, let me write one. What's your name anyway?"

"Name's Gamakichi. The Boss Toad will be happy to know you're alive!"

Naru wrote a short but to the point letter, explaining about his condition. Ichigo wrote his own letter, asking for explanations. Gamakichi took them and with a poof vanished. Isshin, who was listening on the other side of the door, came in.

Ichigo looked at his father.

"Dad? Did you know about...?"

Isshin sighed.

"I knew his name, and the reason he came here. But I thought it would be better if he had a normal life."

Naru rubbed his head absentmindedly. Whenever he was embarrassed or confused he rubbed his head. It seemed to be a habit of his.

"I don't mind. I like it here. It's so peaceful...if you don't count that weird howling that goes off every once in a while," said Naru.

Isshin didn't know that Naru could hear them.

"Tell you what. How about I take Naru on a trip to see an old friend of mine. Ichigo, why don't you take the girls to the amusement park."

Ichigo gave his father a look, but even he wanted to go.

"After we meet my friend we'll catch up with you three there."

"Okay dad..."

* * *

Naru went with Isshin to a dinky little store with the name Urahara on it.

"Hello! It's been a long time, Isshin."

"Yo. Brought my second son with me today. He can hear hollows."

Urahara raised an eyebrow. He wasn't aware Isshin had a fourth child.

"Why don't we sit down and talk..."


	6. Cherry Blossom Rebirth Chapter One

Byakuya Kuchiki was having a bad day. And he fully blamed it on his lieutenant. Some time during the night, Renji had the bright idea of going out drinking with Rangiku Matsumoto of squad ten, Shuhei Hisagi from squad nine, and Ikkaku Madarame from squad eleven.

The destruction the four caused while dead drunk caused massive amounts of paperwork to pile up on their respective captain's desks. Matsumoto and Hisagi were hit hard, since they had to fill out the paperwork by themselves.

(Rangiku because Toshiro was furious at her, and Hisagi because his captain had turned traitor and they had yet to replace him.)

Zaraki honestly could care less about the destruction, so Ikkaku was the only one to get away without any punishment.

Renji, on the other hand, was hit harder than the others. Byakuya had not been pleased to be awoken in the middle of the night to find out his lieutenant had gotten drunk and done something stupid.

Which was why the red haired man was currently completing _all_ the backlog of Squads three, five and six as well as the paperwork for the destruction. To top it all off, Byakuya had docked his salary to pay for the damages.

So his day was shot, and possibly his weekend as well. It would take Renji a week to finish the paperwork.

So it was with great surprise that Byakuya felt something with claws attach itself to his left arm, and then vanished in a ball of flame before his younger sister and two others.

Byakuya blinked, and wondered where the hell he was. He was clearly in the world of the living, but it wasn't Karakura or anyplace he recognized. The house was filthy, the air itself was smoggy, and he had been kidnapped for reasons he didn't understand.

A man who looked as ancient as Yamamoto-taicho from squad one came in, and his frown deepened.

He glared. Somehow, he got the distinct feeling this man was responsible for his weekend being shot to hell. Renji's mistake was bad enough, but this topped the cake. The old man frowned.

Clearly he was expecting something else.

"Harry?"

Byakuya said nothing, but his hand was firmly on Senbonzakura. He wasn't allowed to kill the living, but there wasn't any laws against property damage(just a ton of paperwork and a paycheck deduction). That little tidbit was going to help him work out his frustration for the next week, even if he did have to pay for the damages later.

Sometimes, the only solution was to act as though you were from the Eleventh, and damn all the consequences.

"I don't know who you are, and frankly I could care less. But if you intend to keep me here, you will have another thing coming," Byakuya said in accented English.

Soul Reapers could speak any language, but they only used it when visiting the other soul societies. There was one on every continent.

"Harry, my boy..."

"I am not _your_ anything. And my name is certainly not Harry. I am Byakuya Kuchiki, 28th head of the Kuchiki clan and the head of Squad Six of the Seireitei."

The old man frowned. This was clearly his missing student, but in the same sense it wasn't.

Harry Potter had fallen through the Veil of Death nearly five months ago in place of his godfather. They had tried everything to find where he had gone, since the prophecy clearly stated that only the one marked as his equal would be able to deal with Voldemort once and for all.

In a last ditch effort, Dumbledore had ordered his phoenix to find Harry.

He honestly expected the boy to return as a ghost of sorts.

He wasn't expected a clearly solid, _adult_ Japanese nobleman to be standing before him with a sword that seemed well used and radiated power.

Harry's two best friends came in, fully expecting to see a ghost. Their jaws dropped when they saw Byakuya, who looked like the Japanese equivalent of James Potter.

Byakuya had had enough of the staring. He had never liked this kind of attention, but he had been well trained to ignore it with a noble disdain.

He began to walk towards the door, only to discover to his annoyance that the old man had used some sort of strange kido on it to keep him in the room. His glare went up a notch.

It was time to leave, and he wasn't going to let some jumped up human with special powers hold him back.

"_Scatter, Senbonzakura."_

He could honestly care less about the bill. He could tell that he wouldn't be able to open a gate unless he left the house.

So that was exactly what he was going to do.

The red head's mouth gaped at the sight of the pink petals that shredded the door, spell and all. The locking charm only dealt with the lock...there wasn't anything to keep the door together under such an attack.

Hearing the destruction, Sirius Black raced in to see...his godson leaving the house.

Byakuya's eyes met with the former convict, and memories of his past life threatened to take control. He shoved it aside with practiced ease.

Byakuya, when he was younger, suffered horrible nightmares that had nothing to do with hollows. It was only when he gained Senbonzakura that he found a way to seal those away long enough to get any sleep.

He was still a night owl. Unohana wasn't too happy about his sleeping habits. But no one would dare complain about the fact that the Kuchiki leader barely slept more than six hours a night.

Byakuya opened the gate, and went home. He wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.

* * *

"_SIRIUS!"_

_A pale boy with bright emerald green eyes stepped hard on the werewolf's foot, and raced to the veil. He pushed the man away from the red light and fell headfirst into the shadowy curtain. The last thing he remembered was hearing the one person who actually cared about his well being crying out his name._

Byakuya shot up. It had been years since he had that nightmare. He pinched the bridge of his nose and went into his inner world.

It was a field of cherry blossoms that greeted him. Senbonzakura was waiting.

"Again? I thought we took care of those dreams years ago," he said.

"So did I. Something is going on, and I have a feeling this isn't the end of it," replied Byakuya.

"Shall we fallback to our usual standby to keep them at bay?"

"What other options do we have?" he answered.

The Seireitei was hit with a rash of pranks for the next week. Many believed it to be the fault of Ichigo's hollow Shirosaki...until the substitute told them that Shirosaki had been released in Hueco Mundo for the past month and was currently terrorizing it with Grimmjow and Gin.

When that came out, people realized the mysterious Senkuya had returned. Captains booby-trapped their offices, soul reapers walked with caution, and everyone was afraid they would be hit next.

It was Ichigo who accidentally discovered who Senkuya was...and to say he was shocked was an understatement.

Senkuya was in fact the cranky and rather stiff Byakuya Kuchiki himself. Ichigo had run across the man doing something strange, and had followed him accordingly.

He watched, gaping as Byakuya used a special kido on squad eleven. Byakuya deftly avoided the patrols, and returned to the Kuchiki estate...only to discover Ichigo behind him in shock.

"I don't believe it..." he finally got out.

Byakuya raised an elegant eyebrow.

"Congratulations Kurosaki, you've discovered one of the most well kept secrets of the soul society," he said dryly.

"What, that you actually have a sense of humor?" said Ichigo.

"No, that I know how to prank people. I don't do it often, but when I do they run in fear."

"Oh this I have to see!"

Ichigo waited with Byakuya in Squad Six, claiming some random errand so he could see the captain's work.

He wasn't disappointed. Hell butterflies raced into the barracks with news of Senkuya's strike on the Eleventh. Anyone who went near their barracks came out wearing their least favorite colors and wearing nothing but their underwear.

Ichigo was howling while Renji looked pale. He had been planning to visit Ikkaku later, but now that idea was shot.

* * *

Ichigo couldn't help his laughter, as he went to see the prank first hand from a safe distance. Byakuya went with him, amused.

Zaraki had been hit worse than his squad, as Byakuya had laid a trap specific to the man.

He was now a giant, _pink_ bunny...and to his immense amusement Rukia absolutely loved it. So, apparently, did Yachiru who had also been given rabbit ears.

Not to be dissuaded by his new costume, Zaraki challenged Ichigo...Ichigo took one look and forfeited, laughing his ass off.

Until Byakuya kicked him into the barracks.

Ichigo came out spitting dirt...and was now sporting an orange bunny costume. Rukia was holding her sides laughing.

Byakuya wasn't that oblivious to the fact Ichigo had seen him. Which is why he altered the prank so that anyone over the usual amount of spirit energy would come out looking like a rabbit.

He knew his sister would make an appearance when she got wind, which is why he also had a trap waiting for her. When she went to leave, she turned into a tiny black rabbit.

Ichigo grinned as he scooped up the surprised girl. Byakuya had tried to get rid of his sister's obsession with rabbits before, but for some odd reason he only made it worse.

He had finally given it up as a bad job.

As Ichigo passed him with an annoyed Rukia, Byakuya smirked.

"You won't be able to get out of that for two days. Have fun," he said in a low voice so only the orange haired boy could hear him. Ichigo had his usual scowl, but no one realized it was because of Byakuya.

* * *

Over the past month, a suspicious group of characters started to file into Karakura. Ichigo, after two years of dealing with random events that lead to him dealing with a massive fight at the end, had long since decided to take initiative, so he investigated them.

Only to try and hold back his laughter when he realized who they were looking for.

It seemed that Byakuya had made an impression during the time he was kidnapped for no apparent reason.

Among those looking for the captain were two teens roughly his age, a pair of identical twins (who unfortunately had already had a run in with Urahara, and had clicked upon meeting) and an old man with the fashion sense to rival Orihime's sense of taste.

All of them seemed to be under the impression that Byakuya was their missing friend Hari. Which made absolutely no sense, because Byakuya had to be ten times older than this Hari Potter. Ichigo knew for a fact that Byakuya was alive when Urahara was declared traitor and forced to leave.

But when he saw the picture of the boy in question, he saw how they could be confused. Hari Potter looked like a green eyed, younger version of Byakuya with messier hair.

But what the newcomers didn't know was that Ichigo lived in a small clinic...and he saw signs they had denied for years.

He saw the clear indicators of abuse. The boy was far too small for his age, the eyes were haunted, and he looked like he was ready to bolt.

All tiny indicators that this Hari Potta was abused, and from a young age.

And they expected him to hand over someone he considered a close friend to people who obviously refused to see child abuse. Not going to happen.

Instead, Ichigo sent Shirosaki to the Soul Society to warn Byakuya about the intruders.

Byakuya listened to the hollow, and decided to take care of this problem directly. He had made a very strong impression when he made his escape.

And they were determined to prove he was in fact their missing friend Harry.

Byakuya wore his usual gigai, and this time he wouldn't be facing these people alone.

Rukia, Renji, and pretty much anyone who had close contact with him and considered him a friend had come with him.

This pretty much included a few captains and the like. He might have had more friends if anyone had figured out he was also Senkuya.

Frankly he didn't want to deal with the paperwork that always came from his pranks.

Byakuya sat at the small cafe with Rukia, Renji, and the ryoka sitting at nearby tables. Ichigo had helped the soul reapers to properly blend in this time, so they wouldn't cause a scene like they used to.

(Ichigo, after nearly a year of dealing with their bad outfits and awkward behavior, had finally put his foot down and held a mandatory class for anyone in the seated ranks. After that they finally blended in with the modern society. To his surprise, Byakuya was the only one to pass that class on the first try.)

Byakuya could pass as a bored executive, as he wore a loose sleeve shirt, black pants, and comfortable shoes. He was reading a newspaper, but Ichigo was the only one who noticed he was more interested in the funnies than the current news.

They didn't have to wait long.

The first to arrive were the teens. Only the girl was dressed sensibly, while the red haired boy looked as out of place as Renji used to.

Next came the old man. He had as much taste in clothes as Orihime had in acceptable recipes. And a color sense to match.

Finally came the man that haunted Byakuya. He was tall, had lanky black hair, and deep blue eyes. He was somewhat tired looking, but his eyes were clearly mischievous in nature.

"Can I help you?" he asked calmly.

The blue eyed man stared at him in shock. His godson appeared to have suddenly grown up...and turned Japanese.

It was the blue eyed man who explained the situation. Byakuya raised a single elegant eyebrow in disbelief.

"I find it rather hard to believe I am this Hari Potter. Particularly since the boy you are describing is fifteen, and I am nearly ten times that age," he said dryly.

"You look almost exactly like him!" said the gangly red head. Byakuya gave him a look. The red head didn't appear that bright at all.

The brunette beside him, however, seemed to be a self righteous bookworm.

"I have been alive long enough to be your great-great grandfather."

The old man didn't believe him for a second. He barely looked to be the same age as Sirius.

Byakuya glared at the old man. He looked like the first captain, but he felt like Aizen.

"Why, exactly, are you people looking for an abused fifteen year old boy who likely doesn't want to be found in the first place?" he asked.

That was definitely the wrong thing to say, because it only convinced them further that he was this Hari Potter.

The old man's eyes were twinkling in a way that made Byakuya twitch. He was actually contemplating blinding the old man by gouging his eyes out.

"How do you know he was abused?" asked the brunette girl. She sounded sensible, but uptight.

Byakuya looked at Ichigo. He was the one who mentioned it.

"If you people think everyone is blind, then you're idiots. I know abuse when I see it, even if it isn't first hand," said Ichigo flatly.

Sirius (the blue eyed man) glared at the old man with definite venom. The message in his eyes was clear as to who was responsible for the abuse.

"You expect us to hand over an abused child to someone who clearly has no intent on keeping him safe?" said Ichigo incredulous.

"He belongs in our world," said the old man.

"I will enunciate this clearly. Even if this...Hari Potter was here, we wouldn't hand him over to you without his consent. It is blatantly clear that you intend to use him as a weapon with no intention of protecting him."

Byakuya was having flashes of memories that weren't his own. He was starting to suspect he _was_ this Hari Potter reborn, though how that was possible he had no idea.

The only person who didn't anger him on sight was Sirius Black, and that was because the memories he had of the man showed he was one of the few who did try to help the boy.

The only other people who tried were the identical twins who were currently helping Urahara terrorize Hueco Mundo. He really pitied those Espada, he really did.

Just as the old man was going to try his best weapon to convince them, the sound of hollows approaching had the group get out of their seats. Ichigo was the first out of his body, using his gikongan.

(He had replaced Kon after an incident with a busty female police officer. It was only because of Rukia's memory replacement device that had kept him out of jail. Kon still lived with him, but he was no longer allowed to use Ichigo's body.)

Byakuya was next, using his own soul candy. It was specially tailored for him by Kurotsuchi. (He had left a note to the man with specific instructions as to what he wanted in his gikongan. In exchange he had a sign that kept Senkuya from pranking his experiments.)

The fake soul glared at everyone. And refused to even speak to the outsiders.

They watched in horror as Byakuya and the others destroyed the monsters with their swords. Out of the wizards, only Sirius wasn't horrified by the sight of the soul reapers taking out two Menos Grandes.

Dumbledore was horrified that his pawn had a power that could kill massive amount of people with ease. The small pink blades shredded the monster with such disturbing ease.

Ron was disgusted by the color of the blades. He fully believed Harry had turned gay during his trip through the veil.

Ron was extremely homophobic.


	7. Demons and Reapers Chapter One

Ichigo took one long look at Karakura. This would be his last day in his hometown for an entire year. After Aizen's defeat and the loss of his powers, Ichigo had been feeling a restlessness for over a month now.

Isshin at least felt sympathetic, and he gave his son full permission to live on his own until he could get his thoughts together and come home. His only request was that he take Kon with him. Ichigo agreed, since he didn't want that plushy anywhere near his still-developing younger sisters. Kami knows what that pervert might try if he left him alone.

Taking a deep breath, Ichigo stepped onto the bus to another town.

Ichigo's first item on his agenda was his new apartment. It was right across from the first district. The next thing was food and supplies. The apartment came fully furnished, which was a relief. Kon decided to check out the new satellite TV Ichigo had sprung for...mostly to keep Kon occupied.

Once he fully got settled in, he called his dad and gave him the number. Karin and Yuzu had been unhappy when they learned of his decision, but he had promised to call them every night.

* * *

A week after coming to the new town, Ichigo finally found a job. The school he went to allowed jobs, so long as they kept their studies up.

It was on his way home from the odd job he had found that he spotted something that bothered him. Someone wearing what appeared to be rather old clothing was being chased by something running on all fours. Ichigo didn't think twice as he went to help the man.

Just as the man was about to be overtaken, Ichigo grabbed his arm and pulled him behind the trees. He didn't look twice at the ears or the markings on his face.

"What are...?"

"Shh! Do you want to get caught by them?" he hissed.

The man stayed silent and the people ran past them.

"Thanks..."

"No problem. Do you have somewhere safe to hide?"

The man nodded.

He tried to move, but all the running and fear had caught up with him, now that he had a chance to rest. He could barely move.

Ichigo could see that, and he wasn't about to leave him alone on the road, even if he didn't really look human. After nearly two years of dealing with shinigami and hollows, nothing like this fazed him anymore. He leaned down and said "Get on. I can't in good conscience leave a helpless person on the side of the road with someone chasing them. The man protested a bit, but reluctantly got onto Ichigo's back.

Ichigo followed his directions, occasionally bolting whenever he sensed the presence of the creatures that had been chasing the man.

He found himself lead to an old fashioned house.

"Ryotaneko!" said a man wearing an odd scarf.

Ichigo carefully helped him down, and Ryotaneko got down. He was able to stand thanks to the rest, and was quickly ushered into the house.

* * *

Ichigo found himself brought before the home owner, who had the oddest head he had ever seen. Because of his ease with the sights around him, he saw a lot more than most human did. The man from before, for example, had no neck to speak of.

"Thank you for bringing Ryota-kun here. We weren't aware the situation was so serious in the First district. Though I am curious as to why you aren't freaking out at the sight of so many yokai."

"I've seen weirder. Worked with them too. Neckless men and spirits aren't nearly as scary when you've fought alongside a large wolf that can speak and use a sword," said Ichigo.

That got the old man to laugh.

"True! What's your name lad?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Well Ichigo-kun, feel free to come by anytime! Anyone who doesn't look twice at a yokai is alright in my book! It would also be nice for Rikuo to know some humans who don't mind yokai," laughed the old man.

Ichigo grinned. For an old demon, he was alright. He was much easier to talk to than Yamamoto, that was for damn sure.

The next day, Ichigo paused by the Nura syndicate to ask how Ryota was doing. He had surprised quite a few because as a human, he actually cared. Ichigo had no idea that at the same time Karasu Tengu had sent one of his sons to investigate him. Apparently he didn't know what to think of a human who was so at ease with yokai.

So imagine that old bird's surprise to see a talking stuffed animal yelling at his son! One that knew Ichigo and lived with him!

Because Ichigo was so concerned about Ryota, he was able to find out that they were launching an assault on First Street to get rid of the intruders. It was his day off.

"What can a human do against yokai?" snorted Karasu. Ichigo felt odd, but he didn't have any real power from what he could tell.

"Give me a sword and I'll show you," said Ichigo.

"Ho ho! I may just take you up on that lad. But the only way you'll be able to keep up with the Night Parade is if you had a cursed blade!" laughed the old man. (Ichigo would later learn his name was Nurarihyon.)

"Curses don't bother me."

"In that case...come with me. I may have a curse blade or two lying around."

"Supreme Commander!" protested Karasu.

Ichigo followed the old man, being completely at ease with all the yokai running around. To be truthful, he had been looking for something to fill the void his soul reaper powers had left. Hanging out with youkai might be the thing to do it.

* * *

Nurarihyon took Ichigo into a room filled with all sorts of blades. Some looked fairly old, but they were all well taken care of.

"Most of these have curses, so most humans can't use them without getting hurt. I mostly collect them because I like blades, but also to keep the humans safe. There's even a Muramasa blade in here somewhere..."

Ichigo let his feet wander around. The blades looked interesting, but none of them called to him. Though he did wonder why he kept hearing snoring.

It was really annoying. Suddenly his feet took him closer to the sound, and he found a blade that looked disturbingly familiar. The snoring got louder.

"Is there anyone in here? I keep hearing someone snoring," he asked.

Nurarihyon laughed. He knew there was something special about Ichigo...only a true master of blades could hear the spirit of one that never became a youkai.

Ichigo touched the sword that looked familiar to him, and the snoring abruptly stopped.

_Who's there? Another yokai eager to test their strength against my seal?_

Ichigo blinked. He recognized that voice...he had fought against the owner once before. He had thought the spirit destroyed.

"Muramasa?"

Ichigo could feel the zanpakuto blink twice.

_You have _got_ to be joking. Ichigo Kurosaki?!_

"I see you've found a good blade. I never expected you to find the Muramasa blade I collected. Some idiot was so afraid of it that they placed it under a weird seal. Though for some reason they also put the wielder under that seal too."

"Last time I saw this blade it had been destroyed by a rogue nobleman who only sought power. I didn't know that it had been switched..." said Ichigo.

Nurarihyon blinked.

_'Muramasa, would you mind joining me? I can't hear Zangetsu anymore because I lost all my soul reaper powers, and it gets really lonely without a sword to talk to,'_ asked Ichigo.

Muramasa blinked.

_Why not? It's better than being stuck in this storage room. At least you can actually hear my voice._

"Whisper, Muramasa."

To the surprise of the old man, the sword vanished and beside Ichigo was a very oddly dressed man.

Nurarihyon blinked.

"You are a far more interesting human than I had thought. So I take it you two are going to join the Night Parade tonight?"

Ichigo grinned.

"You better believe it. I'm not about to let some rats run amok outside my front door!"

"_It's better than sleeping all day in this store room."_

Ichigo ran alongside with ease next to Ryota. He was very surprised at how much the Supreme Commander liked him. The very fact that Nurarihyon allowed one of his cursed blades out of the storeroom spoke volumes.

Ichigo surprised quite a few people when he displayed how well he knew how to handle a blade. Almost like he had learned the same way the samurai of old had. Through real life or death battles...

By the end of the night, Ichigo had attracted the attention of more than just the Supreme Commander of Yokai. All Ichigo cared about was that he finally had someone to talk to during school hours that could understand him again. Though he did wonder how Zangetsu would react to the fact that the same blade that took control of him during that incident was now his daylight partner.

* * *

While Ichigo attended the local high school, having transferred from Karakura, Muramasa spent the day inside watching TV while Kon people watched.

Because Ichigo and Muramasa had helped clear out the rats, they were welcomed by the yokai of the area in places humans weren't meant to go. They didn't seem to find it odd that Ichigo could see the dead, or that by extension he could see them clear as day.

In fact, Nurarihon had a job offer for Ichigo.

Rikuo, his grandson, had often complained of the yokai guarding him sticking out like sore thumbs. So the old yokai offered to give Ichigo a job watching his grandson from within his group of friends.

Considering Rikuo and his group were about the same age as his twin sisters, and Ichigo was told that he wouldn't have to do anything more than hold off any attacks until the cavalry arrived, he agreed to it.

Luckily Rikuo's little club insured that he left the school thirty minutes after Ichigo's last class let out. Meaning he usually had plenty of time to get nearby.

Naturally Rikuo was less than pleased with the fact he had a new bodyguard.

* * *

"I told gramps before, I don't need someone to guard me! Yokai have enough trouble blending in!" said Rikuo to a bored Ichigo.

"Yeah, but I'm not yokai. I'm just a human who can see spirits. I helped this cat yokai out a while ago, and when your grandpa saw how good I was with a blade, even a cursed one, he offered me a job to keep an eye on you and your friends since I'm human. Apparently he was tired of you complaining about how badly the yokai blended in with humans," said Ichigo.

"Human? But I thought humans were afraid of yokai?"

"It helps that I've seen far scarier things than an oversized pigeon with a staff," said Ichigo flatly.

"He's a tengu."

"It doesn't matter. I'm more like that Yura girl than a demon, though Kon comes very close to one," said Ichigo.

"So you're not a yokai and you aren't afraid of demons. Why on earth would you agree to bodyguard a thirteen year old who's got demon blood?"

"You're about the same age as my twin sisters, this is the best job I could find that doesn't involve menial labor, and it means I get to stay close to the other side of the supernatural world without doing more than chaperoning a bunch of middle school kids," said Ichigo.

Which was true, Ichigo had the perfect cover by acting as chaperone for the group. Because he had two younger sisters back in Karakura, no one would think twice about his presence.

And with his fighting skills, he could hold off most demons long enough for the Nura clan to send reinforcements.

* * *

Karasu sat across from the Supreme Commander.

"Are you sure about this? Leaving the heir in the hands of a soul reaper, even one as weakened as that boy?"

"Kurosaki is an excellent bodyguard. According to him, his parents gave him the name Ichigo in order to signify his strength to protect others. Ichi for 'first' and Go for 'protector'. Unlike most of our brethren, I've been listening to the soul reaper channels. Kurosaki is a war hero who recently lost most of his power and just needs time to recover what he had."

"Better to have him on our side early on, instead of letting him get the same idiot ideas the older reapers have?" said Karasu knowingly.

Some of the more idiot soul reapers actually tried to put youkai in their silent swords. A few even succeeded!

"Exactly. Besides, Rikuo's complaints have dropped since Ichigo is more or less insuring that the kids don't get into too much trouble."

Who knew all he had to do was assign on of the more human yokai as a chaperone to keep his grandson quiet?

* * *

"You're going to a mountain retreat, with only a single man to guide you?" said Ichigo.

"Yes, and since I have a bad feeling about this, I thought I should ask if you wanted to come with us," said Rikuo. He was much friendlier once Ichigo explained that he was more or less a chaperone hired by his grandfather.

As far as he could tell, once nighttime hit, Rikuo could handle himself. Still, it wasn't like this job was any different than being paid to watch his sisters go out with their friends.

Well, aside from free room and food in that apartment inside the youkai district.

Sure, he stayed up most nights because of the noise, but it wasn't like his former job as a soul reaper didn't require late hours anyway. Plus it allowed him to have the highest marks in the class.

At least until he was able to afford those noise canceling headphones...

* * *

Yura looked at Ichigo, who was reading a book while the kids played their game.

"Why are you joining us? I thought Nura's grandfather hired you as a bodyguard?"

"I'm acting as chaperone on this little trip. It keeps your parents from asking why a bunch of twelve and thirteen year old children are going into the mountains without any real supervision. Rikuo's grandfather agreed to it, saying he didn't want to have any more grandkids too early," said Ichigo, not looking up.

"We're only twelve," said Yura.

"Yes, but there are such things as early bloomers, and it's a known fact that once a girl has their period they can have children," said Ichigo without blushing.

Yura conceded his point. Plus since Ichigo was a responsible older teen, he could be reasonably trusted to keep the kids in line. But the main reason she trusted Ichigo was because she could sense his spirit energy, and it was purely human.

She had already written to her family about him, and apparently Ichigo was the son of a famous exorcist who went after special monsters that attacked anyone with high enough spirit energy.

From what she could tell he had no training in that aspect, something she planned to broach with him in private later. No need to give out trade secrets in the open after all.


End file.
